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UNIQUE MOROCCAN – DUTCH COOPERATION
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
First cultural centre and desert lodge in the environmentally endangered Sahara of southern Morocco.
Rabat – During the 5th Forum-Salon ECORISMO-MAROC 2010, a fair for sustainable tourism, Bureau E.A.S.T., Halim and Ibrahim Sbai, Butterfly Works and Sahara Roots signed a Memorandum of Understanding to officially start the building process of the first cultural centre and desert lodge in the environmentally endangered Sahara of southern Morocco.
The first lodge and cultural centre will be opened in February 2011.
The partnership was born when Aziza Chaouni from Bureau E.A.S.T. met Halim and Ibrahim Sbai in 2009 during the Taragalte Festival to celebrate cultural heritage and raise awareness for environmental issues in the desert.
Solutions are needed for tourists visiting the Mhamid El-Ghizlaine region, minimizing their environmental footprint and raising their awareness of the scarcity of the natural resources in the desert. Last February, Bureau E.A.S.T. presented their ideas for building a lodge to help address these issues.
Over the past 7 years the Sbai brothers have been collaborating with the Dutch foundation Sahara Roots, to protect endangered Sahara villages and their cultures from desertification and ecological decline, through tree planting – and desert cleaning activities. Bureau E.A.S.T. invited Butterfly Works to participate as a specialist in education and community co-design projects. They will take care of the social embedding and craft products with local communities surrounding the cultural centre and environmentally lodge.
The cultural centre
The cultural centre will act as a source of learning for both the local villagers and the tourists about the environment, cultural diversity and sustainable development. Furthermore, the centre will promote cultural exchange and stimulate economic and social development.
The desert lodge
The desert lodge will consist of five lodges, a restaurant and a reception area in the middle of an existing oasis.
The service and design will be outstanding and in harmony with the nomadic traditions and traditional building and crafting skills. The surrounding villages will take part in the design and building process.
Trained staff from the community will welcome guests and share their wisdom of the region. Guests will have the luxury of sharing in a nomadic experience and become part of the M’hamid community while they take part in activities such as tree planting sessions.
More information
For more information contact:
The Netherlands: Hester Ezra / hester@butterflyworks.org
Morocco: Moushira Elamrawy /moushira.elamrawy@bureaueast.com
